Pressure is on TFC's Ryan Nelsen

Knows that he has to win to keep his job

Despite being on the job for less than a year, head coach Ryan Nelsen is the longest-tenured of the front-office staff with Toronto FC after a slew of changes this off-season. (CRAIG ROBERTSON/Toronto Sun)

To be fair, most of us are, the curse of witnessing one of the great rises and falls in North American sports history over the past seven Major League Soccer seasons.

This time last year, Nelsen was criss-crossing the Atlantic, competing in the Premier League while TFC’s top suit, general manager Kevin Payne, was pulling the strings in preparation for the New Zealander’s arrival.

Nelsen came and did what he could with a pre-season roster that would have struggled to win an NCAA title.

Looking back, the entire premise of 2013 was to rid the club of bad contracts in preparation for the transformation we’re witnessing now — the additions of Justin Morrow, Dwayne De Rosario, Gilberto and Jackson, with more to come.

Frankly, the only questionable thing MLSE head honcho Tim Leiweke and Co. have done this season is leave Nelsen in charge.

After the club sacked Payne and front office executive Earl Cochrane earlier this year, new general manager Tim Bezbatchenko moved to replace academy director Thomas Rongen, a near-clean sweep of Payne-era top brass.

That saw Nelsen go from rookie manager to longest-tenured front-office member in less than a year.

“They won’t give me much more time,” Nelsen told the New Zealand Herald this week. “It was pretty awful here when I arrived and we are in much better shape now, but we will have to start turning things around soon.”

More like immediately.

Bezbatchenko has said the club’s aim is to make the playoffs in 2014.

Not to be outdone, Leiweke guaranteed TFC will make the playoffs next year.

After MLSE went and spent a Brinks truck worth of cash this off-season, a slow start in 2014 could see Nelsen get the hook before the summer — something he’s aware of.

“The fans and media can get on top of you but you need to stick to your guns,” Nelsen told the Herald while on holiday in New Zealand. “It’s not about me, it’s about the club. Even if I did get fired, the club will be in good shape in terms of the playing personnel and the salary cap situation; I’m quite proud of the transformation here.

“The club was in a hole when I arrived — it was pretty awful.”

Awful really doesn’t go far enough in describing the state of last season’s squad.

Last February, Toronto’s two Designated Players, Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans, were on the treatment table.

Stefan Frei, the club’s first-choice ’keeper presumably, joined the injury list during the first half of the first pre-season game in Orlando.

To make matters worse, defenders Darren O’Dea and Richard Eckersley were eating up as much as $1 million in cap space between them, a no-win situation when five players — mostly injured — are costing a club that much.

But now that those players have moved on, Nelsen can no longer deflect when asked about the state of his roster.

Most, if not all, of next season’s starting XI will have been purchased or signed under his watch.

With a roster that, on paper, finally has enough quality to push for playoff spot, Bezbatchenko and Leiweke won’t be as patient with Nelsen if things go sideways to start next season.

That means the New Zealander will need to survive a difficult early run of games that includes three western trips to Seattle, Salt Lake and Dallas, with only two home dates through March and April.

The Reds play 10 games between March and the start of June. Basic math says Toronto needs to be on at or around 15 points by then to have a reasonable shot at making the post-season.

That means there’s likely a threshold by which Nelsen will be relieved.

A similar start to 2013 — seven points through 10 games — will likely spur serious discussion as to whether the Reds need to replace the lone-surviving member of last year’s staff.

The pressure was already on Nelsen heading into next season.

His CEO’s off-season playoff prediction is even more reason to sprout a few white hairs.

To be fair, most of us are, the curse of witnessing one of the great rises and falls in North American sports history over the past seven Major League Soccer seasons.

This time last year, Nelsen was criss-crossing the Atlantic, competing in the Premier League while TFC’s top suit, general manager Kevin Payne, was pulling the strings in preparation for the New Zealander’s arrival.

Nelsen came and did what he could with a pre-season roster that would have struggled to win an NCAA title.

Looking back, the entire premise of 2013 was to rid the club of bad contracts in preparation for the transformation we’re witnessing now — the additions of Justin Morrow, Dwayne De Rosario, Gilberto and Jackson, with more to come.

Frankly, the only questionable thing MLSE head honcho Tim Leiweke and Co. have done this season is leave Nelsen in charge.